Durga Puja today is a commercial venture

Durga Puja today is a huge commercial venture – this is applicable to the Baroari pujas and not the household pujas some of which date back to 300 years ago. The household pujas that have survived the ages are today the annual meeting grounds of family members who are scattered all across the globe. And, on this occasion, they come together to exchange notes and find out who has succeeded in life and who has not been so lucky.
Anyway – the other category of pujas, namely the baroari pujas, have become the arena to announce political strategies and the organizers have to keep an eye on the awards. It is the awards and the number of sponsors that define the success of a puja.
It was not like that in the olden days. I remember the good old days - it was in 1959 when I was in a group of boys who had been detailed by our Durga Puja Committee to go to Kumortuli to buy an idol and bring it to the pandal.
Ours was a group of around ten, we were given a lorry – the leader of our group was given Rs 500 to buy the idol.

Yes, in those days, Rs 500 could get a reasonable sized idol. I remember the wonderful experience - we reached Kumortuli by around 4pm and put our lorry in queue while the leader accompanied by the gang went inside to select and bargain about the price. Idols were readily available except a few which had ‘already sold’ boards on them.
Once our turn came, it was past 11pm – there were local porters who carried the idols up to the lorry. By the time we returned to our pandal, it was midnight. The idols were unloaded and our decorators took over to decorate the pandal and install the idols. The decorators were another group of our friends.
Unfortunately, all that camaraderie has vanished. Today it is all done by professionals. Right from selection of idols, to placing the order and decoration of the pandal there are specific groups. And, money flows freely because most of the pujas have been taken over by people who have the clout.
The funds come from sponsors and their banner ads can be seen around all the venues. And, sponsors will come forward only if the committee has something special to offer. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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